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The latest attack in Kurram, in the province of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, was on Friday when unidentified gunmen ambushed and
burned aid trucks, killing two security personnel and at least
five drivers.
The district has been cut off from the rest of the country since
November after authorities blocked roads following clashes
between heavily armed Shiite and Sunni tribes. At the time,
gunmen ambushed a convoy of vehicles carrying passengers,
killing 52 people, mostly Shiites. Retaliatory attacks left over
70 others dead.
Hundreds of thousands of residents have since faced a shortage
of food and medicine with aid organizations unable to enter the
area.
Barrister Saif Ali, a spokesman for the provincial government,
said the operation became “inevitable” following the surge in
violence. He also said authorities are moving some residents to
temporary governmental shelter camps while the operation is
ongoing in several areas, including the city of Bagan from where
most of the violence has been reported.
Motasim Billah, a government administrator, said the goal of the
operation is to fully restore peace and ensure the writ of the
government.
Shiite Muslims dominate parts of Kurram, although they are a
minority in the rest of Pakistan, which is majority Sunni. The
area has a history of sectarian conflict, with militant Sunni
groups previously targeting minority Shiites.
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Associated Press writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan
contributed to this report.
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